Games bring people together. Soccer is no different. Goal, which is written by Mina Javaherbin and illustrated by A.G. Ford, is a story about a group of South African boys who come together to enjoy a pick-up game of soccer despite a group of bullies who try to steal their brand-new, federation-size soccer ball. Readers… Continue reading Goal + Giveaway: Bullying Series
Category: reading
Boss Baby + Giveaways: Bullying Series
This post is the first of four posts I'll be writing this month about bullying-related literature you can use with your students. Click here to learn more about this special series on bullying. Be sure to check out the giveaway Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division is doing this week for readers of this blog… Continue reading Boss Baby + Giveaways: Bullying Series
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A Special Series on Bullying
Everyone's talking about bullying these days... and for good reason. The recent suicides of teens, from New Brunswick, NJ to Mentor, OH, have made front page headlines. The deaths of these students leave us all asking, "What else could have been done to prevent this child from taking his/her life?" Quite frankly, there's a lot… Continue reading A Special Series on Bullying
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Winding Down the Knuffle Bunny Trilogy
Knuffle Bunny Free: An Unexpected Diversion, by Mo Willems, was released last week. This book is the final part of the Knuffle Bunny Trilogy. Initially I felt sad when I learned Knuffle Bunny Free would be the final installment of the "series." After all, I had such joy reading aloud from the first two books… Continue reading Winding Down the Knuffle Bunny Trilogy
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Planning Read Alouds that Support the Workshop Model
lock·step noun, often attributive \ˈläk-ˌstep\ Definition of LOCKSTEP 1: a mode of marching in step by a body of persons going one after another as closely as possible 2: a standard method or procedure that is mindlessly adhered to or that minimizes individuality — in lockstep : in perfect or rigid often mindless conformity or… Continue reading Planning Read Alouds that Support the Workshop Model
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Fall Into Books with Your Students This Fall
Up until last week, if you had asked me what book I'd recommend you read to your students to get them excited about Reading Workshop (Yes, Reading Workshop. I know, I know, this is a blog about Writing Workshop, but sometimes we have to write about reading!), I'd suggest Wolf by Becky Bloom. Sure there… Continue reading Fall Into Books with Your Students This Fall
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Reflecting on Reading Like a Writer
So I took some time to create a video about the system I created in order to track and reflect on my summer reading. Because I pushed myself to reflect in a new medium, I feel like I dug deeper into the work I've done with reading like a writer. (I hope it's not too… Continue reading Reflecting on Reading Like a Writer
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Things I’ve Learned from Summer Reading
Two months ago, on the first Monday of my summer holiday, I blogged a post titled, "Summer Reading." Today is my last Monday of summer vacation, so it seems fitting to reflect on my summer reading. Although it'll take more than a single post to capture my reflections, so today is a simple list about… Continue reading Things I’ve Learned from Summer Reading
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Book Suggestions for Kids Who Are New to School
My neighbor's son is starting Kindergarten this month. Even though I've only known him for a little over a year, I'm delighted for him since this is an exciting time in a young child's life. Two books recently crossed my desk that I've thought worthy of sharing with him before he starts Kindergarten. If you… Continue reading Book Suggestions for Kids Who Are New to School
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Focus Spots
Last week my husband and I vacationed in Ogunquit, Maine. We took a sunset cruise out of Perkins Cove, which gave us a wonderful opportunity to explore the coastline from a different vantage point. Just a few minutes after our boat got into the open water I noticed a woman sitting out on a rock… Continue reading Focus Spots
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How do you choose what to read?
I was sharing my goal to read 100 YA fiction books so I could begin to really understand the inner-workings of the genre when my friend (Hi The Other Ruth!) asked me: "How do you choose what to read?" I rattled off: My favorite authors that I would love to write like. A title that… Continue reading How do you choose what to read?
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Good Teacher: A Guest Blog Post by Elizabeth Eastmond
Elizabeth Eastmond teaches English at a local community college near her home in Southern California. You can find her writings at peninkpaper.blogspot.com or occasionalpiece.blogspot.com. I remember that day pretty clearly. The brilliant and dazzling lesson plan fell on its face. The students were more bored than I was. The silence that met a non-starter discussion… Continue reading Good Teacher: A Guest Blog Post by Elizabeth Eastmond
